1 Sept 2026
App trial raises sustainable sheep farming hope
Testing is underway on a new platform that aims to help farmers separate the animals needing treatment from those that don’t.
Allister Webb
Job Title
The SmartWorm app, which combines growth rate data, weather information, grazing quality and farmer observations to identify lambs for treatment.
Trials have begun of a new app that vets hope could allow individualised parasite controls within the sheep industry.
The SmartWorm platform is currently being tested on four commercial farms in south-west England in a project backed by a government-funded innovation programme.
The system aims to combine electronic identification (EID) data with live lamb performance and on-farm conditions to allow producers to only worm animals which need it.
But despite the importance of tackling resistance, project lead Emily Gascoigne, a vet with Synergy Farm Health, stressed reducing wormer use was not the project’s sole aim.
Lamb performance
She said: “It’s about maintaining lamb performance, protecting animal welfare and preserving the effectiveness of wormers for the future.
“If we can achieve all of those together, that’s a significant step forward for sustainable sheep farming.”
The problem of parasitic worms is thought to cost the sheep industry millions of pounds a year as well as increasing resistance pressure on existing worm treatments.
By identifying and separating lambs that need treatment from the rest of the flock, it is hoped that wormer use can be reduced without compromising growth rates or welfare.
Grazing seasons
The trial is being run across two grazing seasons at farms with flocks which range in size from 200 to 2,500 ewes, which officials say will allow the technology to be tested in real farm conditions.
The project, which is being funded through Defra’s ADOPT innovation programme, also incorporates veterinary oversight, routine worm egg counting and laboratory support from the Moredun Research Institute, which is providing parasite monitoring and resistance testing.
Miss Gascoigne said: “Many sheep farms already have incredibly capable EID systems in place.
“This project is also about understanding how we can better connect that technology so it becomes a practical decision-making tool for everyday flock management.
“Worms compromise animal performance, but they become a much bigger problem if they develop resistance and you can no longer control them effectively.”